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House backs higher surcharge on fines to help counties hosting halfway houses
Summary
The House approved second-substitute SB217 to raise a surcharge on criminal fines to fund local law enforcement agencies bearing costs associated with halfway houses; sponsor cited probation/parole statistics to justify the change.
The Utah House passed second-substitute SB217 on March 11 to increase a surcharge on criminal fines and penalties. Representative Garn, the floor sponsor, said surcharge revenue would go to local law-enforcement agencies in communities that host halfway houses and incur additional costs for supervising probationers and parolees.
Representative Garn provided context for the proposal, saying, "Over 13,000 persons on probation and parole in Utah residing in over 300 communities. 78 percent of these people are convicted felons." He told members that the surcharge revenue would help make affected local law-enforcement agencies "whole" for costs associated with hosting probationers and parolees who live in those jurisdictions.
The House took no substantive amendment to the surcharge allocation on the floor; after debate and the sponsor's summation, the bill passed the House 56–11 and will be transmitted to the Senate for the President's signature.
Supporters emphasized the fiscal equity issue for counties that host halfway houses, while critics asked questions about the distribution method and whether the measure would fairly target affected jurisdictions. The floor exchange focused on who bears costs and how increased surcharge revenue is distributed rather than on criminal-justice programmatic changes.
SB217 moves forward to the Senate following the House's vote.
